ATTENTION COMRADES OF THE WORLD. PLEASE HELP AND SHARE! I protested the torment of the houseless population by chaining myself down to pallets inside a tent with lock boxes with 2 others. It was a serious moment for free speech and self protection that occurred during a raid on the (de)Occupy Honolulu Camp, which has been running continuously for 2 years on November 5th. The city has legalized theft of everything the houseless own... with multiple laws. I have been houseless at this camp for about 1.5 years. I am a protesting houseless advocate, along with a (de)Occupier, and a named plaintiff in, not 1, but 2 federal lawsuits against the C & C of Honolulu (and former city workers) to end the assault by the system. We have a lot of support on this issue locally. But this sentencing of me to 60 days in prison, and 45 days of Blade (and Madori for filming a raid up close in a separate raid) is a reflection of how effective we are in this battle. They are SCARED and FAILING! We ARE appealing. We had an $11,000 bail put on our heads to get us out until 12/16, when the sentencing will continue. We are out on this bail and Madori will be out in a matter of days. But these legal fees are expensive. It is a direct assault on free speech. Malama Pono, Sugar Russell FROM OUR FRIENDS AT WORLD CANT WAIT HAWAII: AN ESCALATION IN ATTACKS ON PROTEST; A NEW PRECEDENT As you probably know, two more (de)Occupy protesters have been sentenced to jail terms for obstructing government operations - the routine charge against protesters who engage in civil disobedience such as sit-ins. This charge has been used (or threatened to be used) against anti-war protesters at K-Bay, at Pearl Harbor, at recruitment stations, and during eviction struggles. The result is normally a few hours or overnight in the police cell block while the person is processed and then released until trial. In the end the charges are usually waived or there is a relatively small fine. The sentences of Madori, Blade and Sugar represent a leap in the governments attacks on protest. A new precedent is being set and its up to anyone who believes it is right to stand up against injustice to fight this new precedent. Regardless of whether you support (de)Occupys encampment at Thomas Square, or their tactics more generally, this is an attack that impacts everyone who believes it is right to protest. We would add that regardless of any criticism around tactics, the (de)Occupy protesters have not only endured 50+ police raids, but have consistently challenged new and increasingly repressive laws effecting the homeless (among other issues). While many Hawai`i citizens are appalled by these laws, few have lobbied and testified at City Council as consistently as the activists at (de)Occupy, and their court challenges are continuing. For example, only yesterday, (de)Occupy supporters were at City Council testifying against Bill 59, which further criminalizes the homeless (see testimony of Michael Tada and Doug Matsuoka. Current Charges Early this month Madori Rumpungworn was sentenced to 30 days in jail by Circuit Judge Patrick Border for refusing to leave a section of Thomas Square which the police had marked off with yellow tape. (de)Occupy was in the process of challenging the City Councils new ordnance allowing the confiscation of property in court. When the City came to take her property Madori was not unruly but simply stood inside the tape. In addition to 30 days in jail she has a restraining order preventing her from going to Thomas Square for any reason for a year, a fine, and has been ordered to write an apology letter to the several authorities. Madori is currently in jail at OCCC. On Tuesday, after similar trials with the same judge for similar charges, Blade Walsh was sentenced to 45 days and Catherine (Sugar) Russell was sentenced to 60 days in jail. Their jail terms were to begin on December 15 if they posted $11,000 bail each. They were not immediately able to post bail and went to jail prior to serving their sentences. Since then $2200 has been posted with a bail bondsman and they have been released. But its not over! Both Blade and Sugar are facing jail time beginning December 16th -- whether they do depends on all of us who believe in free speech and the right to stand up against injustice by way of non-violent civil disobedience roll back the extremely dangerous precedent these charges have set. What You Can Do The lawyers for Blade and Sugar believe that there is a good basis to appeal the sentences and have committed to taking it as far as possible. However, even if the cases are pro bono (i.e. without charges for the lawyers time), there are actual expenses like filing fees and copying. The current estimate is about $2,500. The close supporters of (de)Occupy have already raised the $2200 to post bail for Sugar and Blade so they can assist the lawyers in the appeal and continue their court challenges against city ordnances against the homeless. However, donations are urgently needed to raise funds to cover the cost of the appeal. A reversal on appeal would represent a real victory against the governments crackdown against non-violent protest. For example, when the city arrested Not In Our Name activists for chalking the sidewalk, the challenge to that charge resulted in a new and written precedent allowing sidewalk chalk. If wed rolled over and let the charges stand a new precedent against sidewalk chalking would have been set. We urge you to contribute to making this appeal possible. (de)Occupy is in the process of setting up a mechanism to accept contributions but we also invite you to send a check to World Cant Wait-Hawai`i and well see that it is spent for this purpose only. Any amount will help! Make your check out to World Cant Wait-Hawai`i and send it to: World Cant Wait-Hawai`i, P. O. Box 11225, Honolulu, HI 96828. Be sure to write appeal on the memo line. If for any reason the appeal is not filed well return your contribution. If you would like your contribution to revert to World Cant Wait-Hawai`i if it is not filed write appeal/WCW on the memo line.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 09:38:39 +0000